FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—It was just over a year ago when it seemed like the marriage between Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs was never going to last.

How could it?

The external tensions created by the blockbuster deal that had brought Kessel to Toronto were at a boiling point. As the team failed to progress, at least not enough for some, the deal was viewed as a gigantic error by Brian Burke, as bad as any trade in Leaf history. Some accused Burke of a massive miscalculation fuelled by his massive ego. Or worse.

Tyler Seguin already had a Stanley Cup ring, and Dougie Hamilton looked like a blue-chip defenceman on the way. Kessel, meanwhile, certainly wasn’t an engaging personality, his goal-scoring was streaky, his attention to other parts of the game was flimsy and every time the Leafs played the Bruins he disappeared and his team got murdered.

Many writers and analysts suggested the trade had set back the team five years. Or more. Few stood up and argued on behalf of the transaction.

You don’t hear loud criticisms of the Boston deal any more. Me? I feel like either I misread the situation by suggesting a trade would ultimately happen, or that I misread the ability of the situation to change so drastically.

Now it’s Phil Kessel, the Maple Leaf Forever. And we’ll just see if that story lasts.

When Nonis was doing the new contract, he struggled with the term, and even the money. But not once did he question whether Kessel, either as a person or a player or an athlete in Toronto, was a very good investment.

After four years, he felt he knew and understood the player. He knew the person beyond his public persona.

If anything, Kessel has seemed more relaxed, more at home with being a Leaf, since he got the biggest contract in the history of the franchise. He’s played better with it, very much to his credit.

Which brings us to David Clarkson.

Clarkson, expected to return either against the Panthers or Lightning in the Sunshine State this week, hasn’t played well in his maiden season as a Leaf. His two prolonged absences — a 10-game suspension to start the season, and more recently, an injured elbow that has kept him out since Jan. 14 — have coincided with the most successful portions of the Leaf season.

Without Clarkson, the Leafs are 13-4-1.

With Clarkson, the Leafs are 17-17-5.

Comparing his situation with Kessel’s — and, make no mistake, they are very different hockey players — is instructive for two very different reasons.

First, individual stories can change, and change drastically. The player who initially appears to be the square peg being pounded into the round hole can look like the ideal fit a little further on down the road.

Second, having a strong understanding of the individual when a lucrative, long-term deal is being handed out can often be absolutely critical for the team involved.

The Leafs wanted more grit after losing that Boston series, and in Clarkson and David Bolland, they thought they had acquired it.

Bolland came already under contract. Clarkson was signed as an unrestricted free agent for which teams almost always pay a premium.

Nonis didn’t really know Clarkson any more than a GM of one team knows players on another. Everyone knew he was a Toronto kid, and Nonis knew he’d always stood up to be counted when the Leafs played the Devils.

What they didn’t know was how his personality, and background, might impact his ability to perform in his hometown.

Specifically, they didn’t know how a seven-year, $36.7-million contract might mess with his head, at least initially. Having cut loose Mikhail Grabovski and entered into a bidding war for Clarkson, Nonis chose to take the gamble with an athlete he didn’t really know on a personal level.

So far, Clarkson has yet to look comfortable as a Leaf, yet to play as a Leaf as he did as a Devil. He may yet. In fact, he probably will, once he finds a consistent spot in Randy Carlyle’s lineup.

As with Kessel, what looks lousy today might look great in a few months. Clarkson hasn’t even skated in a half-season as a Leaf. So it’s too early to label him a bust.

Still, this much is true — you never know how big money will affect an athlete, good or bad.

But maybe if you know the athlete, the chances of it being good are much better.

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